SUSTAINABLE SMART CITIES: THE CONTRIBUTION OF IOT-ENABLED TECHNOLOGIES UNDER VISION 2030

The fast pace of urbanization has also contributed to an increase in the sustainability issues that are being experienced in urban and city centers, which include energy, environmental, transportation, and service delivery issues, among others. It is in this context that the development of smart cities has been identified as an approach that seeks to achieve sustainability in urban and city centers through the use of digital technologies, and in this regard, IoT has been identified as an enabler that facilitates data acquisition, decision making, and optimization in urban and city centers, among others. This paper seeks to analyze the role that IoT technology plays in creating smart and sustainable cities, with particular reference to Saudi Vision 2030. This paper seeks to analyze, through an in-depth analysis of literature from all over the world, the role that IoT technology plays in facilitating sustainability factors such as energy, transportation, environmental, governance, and quality of life in urban and city centers, with particular reference to smart city development. This paper seeks to highlight that it is within this context that smart city development, as an approach that seeks to achieve sustainability in urban and city centers, that the strategic approach that the Saudi government has taken towards digital transformation and smart city development is at the core of their development agenda, as highlighted within Saudi Vision 2030.